Zoho co-founder, Sridhar Vembu, dived straight into the world of science and ignited a debate on link between child vaccination and autism on Tuesday. Vembu ended up in a war of words with Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, award-winning hepatologist, who goes by the name 'The Liver Doc' on social media and once again got called "boomer uncle". The Liver Doc accused Vembu of sharing a study which is "not peer reviewed and not scrutinised".
What Zoho Co-Founder Said
On Tuesday morning, Vembu shared a study claiming vaccination to be the "dominant risk factor" of autism. Vembu is vocal about autism, a condition his son suffers from.
In a social media post, Vembu advocated against the use of child vaccination, linking it to a rise in autism.
"Parents should take this analysis seriously. 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," he 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. This is spreading in India too and we are seeing a rapid increase in autism in India. https://t.co/AeiVaieYug
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) October 28, 2025
Responding to one of the social media users, Vembu clarified that he isn't against vaccines. He is questioning the number of vaccines being given to children these days.
The Liver Doc's "Boomer Uncle" Response To Sridhar Vembu
The Liver Doc urged people to not stop vaccinating their children if they don't want polio to come back or measles to kill their kids like in the US "because boomer uncles in charge of US Health Departments have become anti science."
Referring to the study shared by Vembu, the hepatologist said that the conclusions of the study are "not credible".
"The "authors" who themselves are a bunch of antivaxxers, funded by an antivaxx organization, who published the study on their own antivaxx website. Not peer reviewed, not scrutinized. The low IQ authors have selectively amplified weaker associations while dismissing robust epidemiological data from millions showing no vaccine-autism link," The Liver Doc wrote on X.
Further strengthening his argument, The Liver Doc shared a Danish study, said to the largest study on the topic, and reiterated that no association was found between childhood vaccines and 50 different health conditions, including autism.
For the public and patients, please do not stop vaccinating your children. You don't want polio to come back. You don't want measles to kill your child like it is doing in the US because boomer uncles in charge of US Health Departments have become anti science.
— TheLiverDoc™ (@theliverdr) October 28, 2025
The conclusions… https://t.co/PsCaeYQmw8 pic.twitter.com/RQM7dnIKBi
Tagging Vembu "boomer uncle", The Liver Doc said that in the past also he has called out his "bullshit on medical and science" and went on to bash his ventures - Arattai, a messaging app and Zoho email.
The Liver Doc advised Vembu to "stay in your lane" and delete the post.
The Liver Doc vs Zoho Co-Founder vs Internet
While many people, including doctors disproved Vembu's scientific claim, they also advised The Liver Doc to watch his words before showering hate on the former's business and app.
"That's so mean. Can't you convey a message respectfully?" asked a social media user.
That's so mean. Can't you convey a message respectfully?
— Allan Ignatius VP (@AlanIgnatius) October 28, 2025
"Did you secretly do a PHD in insulting people to the point where they'll be embarrassed to even open their pages, I'm wheezing," wrote another.
did you secretly do a PHD in insulting people to the point where they'll be embarrassed to even open their pages, I'm wheezing
— TechWhirl Ultimate (@TechWhirlUlt) October 28, 2025
Vembu didn't respond to The Liver Doc directly but in several of his posts on X, he did refer to the "stay in your lane" remark and called out the doctor's arrogance.
"I urge intelligent doctors to debate this philosophy of medicine issue. I will not respond to the arrogant "stay in your lane" types," he wrote on X.
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…
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) October 28, 2025
Not The First War Of Words Between The Liver Doc And Zoho CEO
This is not the first time the two men have had disagreement over something. Last year, in August, Vembu's advocacy for walking barefoot drew sharp criticism from the doctor, calling it "pseudoscience."
Earlier in January, Vembu advocated the use of cow urine and cow dung, claiming it to have "beneficial properties". To which, the doctor urged to "stop endorsing ancient pseudoscience and outdated therapies, and refrain from amplifying misinformation, as seen in the case of the IIT Madras professor."
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