A self-published report by the McCullough Foundation has reignited one of the most controversial debates in medical science today: the alleged link between childhood vaccines and autism. The study, which claims vaccination is “the most significant preventable driver” of autism, has not been peer-reviewed but has been promoted strongly online by Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu.

Vembu, whose son is autistic, wrote, “Parents should take this analysis seriously. I believe there is increasing evidence that we are giving way too many vaccines to very young children.”

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His post, attached to the unverified study, has sparked widespread criticism from doctors and scientists who warn that such claims risk undermining decades of public health progress.

AN ECHO OF THE 1998 WAKEFIELD SCANDAL

For many in the medical community, this controversy feels like deja vu. In 1998, a now-infamous study by British gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield, published in The Lancet, falsely suggested a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and autism.

The paper was later retracted in 2010 after investigations revealed data manipulation and ethical violations. Wakefield lost his medical license, but the damage was done, anti-vaccine sentiment took root globally.

Doctors point out that the authors of the McCullough Foundation report include some of the same figures associated with v