‘Don’t let this happen in India’: Sridhar Vembu warns we may be overdosing kids with shots
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has triggered a debate on India’s vaccine policies after questioning the mass rollout of HPV vaccines to young girls, citing a recent incident in Bihar where dozens of students fainted post-vaccination.
Posting on X, Vembu referenced an October 17 news report from Saharsa, Bihar, where “30-35 female students fainted after receiving the HPV vaccine,” and were admitted to Sadar Hospital. He contrasted this with a Tamil Nadu government announcement just days earlier promoting free HPV vaccines as a step toward a “cancer-free future.”
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is sexually transmitted, and Vembu emphasized that it “does not transmit via regular contact or even hugging.” Questioning the necessity of administering the vaccine to very young girls, he warned against blindly expanding vaccine mandates, writing: “We are giving way too many vaccines to young children. This does NOT mean we should stop ALL vaccines.”
Clarifying that his stance is apolitical, Vembu said, “Most states in India are doing it and our political leaders across the spectrum have been told that ever more vaccine shots are in the best interest of Indians.” He added that speaking out carries personal and professional risks: “It does not help our business or my ‘image’ to talk about this.”
Dr. Datta, a physician from AIIMS Delhi, responded directly to Vembu on X, cautioning that his message could amplify vaccine hesitancy in rural India. “People will use your tweet as a reference to increase the stigma against vaccination,” Datta wrote. “We don’t want an anti-vaccination movement in India which ruins decades of our progress.”
Vembu replied with respect but stood his ground. He criticized what he called a “maximalist” stance from some in the medical community who, he claimed, dismiss any questioning as ignorance. “What the doctors who attack me are saying is, ‘we do not know what causes autism…but we are 100% sure vaccines had nothing to do with it.’”
He shared a personal account from a farm worker whose child allegedly regressed into autism after receiving multiple vaccines in one day, arguing such “anecdotes” deserve attention. “We cannot keep ignoring these as worthless,” Vembu wrote, defending the need for open debate on vaccine safety.
