Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu shared a post on X suggesting a connection between childhoodvaccinesand risingautismcases in India. The claim is FALSE. Sridhar Vembu posted on X implying that childhood vaccinations are linked to an increase in autism cases in India. In hispost, he writes, "To understand why medicine is so complex, let's make a crude simplifying assumption that there are only 100 biomarkers that are important (in reality there are vastly more). Let's also crudely assume each market is allowed only two values. That gives us 2^100 possibilities, which is about 10^30. That is vastly more than humans that ever lived. And this is with the extremely over-simplified model. We face a practical infinity of possibilities. In reality, no two patients are ever really alike. No statistical model can give you very high confidence on how to treat. That is why AI can never treat patients, because human doctors exercise something called "clinical judgment". That judgment is what enables a doctor to tell us "this is not a serious issue, get good sleep" vs "this definitely needs deeper investigation". That judgment is hard. Often they cannot even explain why they arrived at this but great doctors have that intuition. The entire Big Medicine is about systematically dismantling clinical judgment and convert doctors to mere "protocol pushers". Great doctors resist this. Now on top of the measurable biomarkers, there is the unmeasurable factor called "mental state". Every good doctor knows a positive mental state in a patient leads to far better clinical outcomes. That is why good doctors practise compassionate medicine, not just numbers based medicine. I know an outstanding skin doctor in Chennai who prescribed me medicine for my very-itchy Eczema that I had endured for months, and he also told me "try to avoid stress and it may go away, and you may not even need the medicines I prescribed". I consciously reduced my stress level and the problem went away without medicine. That is a truly great doctor. What does it have to do with autism-vaccine connection? As my crude numerical analysis showed, we have the problem of N=1 way too often in medicine and that is even more true for autism where each kid is truly unique, and that is why statistics are mostly useless and clinical judgment is mostly all we have. We cannot have broad sweeping mandates, definitely not broad vaccine mandates. Each doctor has to exercise their judgment with their patient. And they have to listen to the patient concerns first. What Big Medicine is about is to try to reduce medicine to be a pure statistical science and it is not. Conditions like autism do not fit that paradigm at all. That is the battle here. At its core it is not just an autism battle, it is a philosophy of medicine battle. I pledge to keep fighting this fight because I nearly wanted to commit suicide at one one point in my life. Just this morning, a depressed parent approached me for advice and that started my X thread today" The post has 265.9K views and can be accessedhere. The claim is FALSE. There is no scientific evidence or medical consensus to back the claim by the user. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), encompasses a wide range of developmental conditions marked by difficulties in social interaction, communication both verbal and nonverbal and the presence of repetitive behaviors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that autism currently affects about 1 in 36 children and 1 in 45 adults in the United States. According to theWorld Health Organization(WHO), vaccines are one of the most important and effective tools for protecting global health. They strengthen the body’s natural immune system by triggering an immune response that helps reduce the risk of infection. Vaccination currently safeguards people against more than 20 potentially life-threatening diseases, leading to longer and healthier lives for people of all ages. WHO emphasizes that immunization prevents 3.5 to 5 million deaths each year from illnesses such as diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, influenza, and measles—making vaccines an essential part of public health worldwide. Sridhar Vembu recently shared a post on X urging parents to take seriously a disputed study that claimed a link between childhood vaccinations and autism spectrum disorder. He stated, "I believe there is increasing evidence that we are giving way too many vaccines to very young children. This is spreading in India too and we are seeing a rapid increase in autism in India," However, there is no scientific evidence or medical consensus for Vembu’s claim. Extensive research and global medical consensus have consistently shown that vaccination schedules are not linked to autism. On the contrary, the World Health Organization (WHO) stresses that vaccines are vital for safeguarding health and preventing serious diseases. A comprehensive, evidence-based meta-analysis published inVaccineconfirmed that vaccines are not linked to the development of autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study also found no association between autism and vaccine components such as thimerosal (a mercury-based preservative) or with receiving multiple vaccines, including the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. Similarly, research published in theEuropean Journal of Paediatric Neurologypresented strong evidence showing no correlation between vaccines and autism. Additionally, a large-scale study published in theAnnals of Internal Medicineprovided robust evidence that the vaccine schedule neither increases the risk of autism nor triggers the condition in children who may be predisposed. The study also found no clustering of autism cases following vaccination. By including a larger sample size and addressing specific hypotheses related to vulnerable groups, this research further reinforced the lack of any connection between vaccines and autism. The statement also sparked a major online controversy, drawing strong backlash from the medical community. Health experts were particularly critical of the study Sridhar Vembu referenced, which was authored by controversial figures Peter McCullough and Andrew Wakefield. McCullough has previously promoted widely debunked claims about vaccine safety, while Wakefield’s infamous 1998 paper linking the MMR vaccine to autism was retracted fromThe Lancetfor scientific misconduct. Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, a specialist in Hepatology and Liver Transplant Medicine widely known as “The Liver Doc,” appealed to parents to keep vaccinating their children. He cautioned, "Please do not stop vaccinating your children. You don’t want polio to come back. You don’t want measles to kill your child," Dr. Philips further dismissed the study mentioned by Vembu as “not credible,” pointing out that it was produced by “a group of anti-vaxxers, funded by an anti-vaccine organization,” and had not undergone peer review. Dr. Anuj Bansal, MBBS (hons) MD (Peads), Senior Consultant Pediatricsin Punjab in a conversation with Fact Check Team explained, “As a pediatrician, I want to make it very clear there is no scientific link between vaccines and autism. Vaccines are safe, effective, and essential to protect children from diseases like measles and polio. Autism is caused by genetic, neurobiological, and environmental factors, not vaccines. In myYouTubevideo, I’ve explained that this myth began with a fraudulent 1990s study, which was later retracted, and its author lost his medical license. Over 100 major studies have proven there’s no connection. I urge parents trust science, talk to your doctors, and follow vaccination schedules to keep your children and communities safe.” Dr Pallavi Gupta, Consultant Pediatrician, SK Jain Hospital, Geeta Colonyfurther added, “Claims that vaccines cause autism are completely false and have no scientific basis. Vaccines are safe, effective, and lifesaving, protecting children from diseases like measles, polio, and diphtheria. Autism results from a mix of genetic, neurobiological, and environmental factors not vaccination. Research shows differences in brain development and familial genetics play key roles, while prenatal factors like maternal health can also influence risk. Spreading vaccine myths only harms public health. As doctors, we stress: vaccines do not cause autism they save lives and are vital for every child’s wellbeing.” It can be concluded that the claim made by the user is FALSE. The claim made by Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu linking childhood vaccinations to autism is scientifically unfounded and have been repeatedly debunked by extensive research. Likewise, there is no credible scientific evidence or medical consensus to suggest that a rise in vaccination rates has caused an increase in autism cases. On the contrary, a vast body of scientific studies strongly supports the safety of vaccines and rejects any supposed connection to autism. Hence, the claim is FALSE.