We came across a post on X claiming that autism did not exist in Vietnam until after vaccination programmes by the Gates Foundation were introduced in the country. The post featured a video of a man asserting that autism was unheard of in Vietnam in 1975, 2000, and 2001.
Vaccines are one of the Gates Foundation’s largest areas of investment. In 1999, the Foundation pledged US$750 million over five years to launch the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi). Gavi works to accelerate access to vaccines in developing countries and support research into health solutions that are effective, affordable, and sustainable. Its core partners include the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the Gates Foundation.
Claims linking vaccines to serious health conditions are not new and have surfaced in many countries, including Singapore. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, false claims about vaccine safety spread widely on social media, prompting repeated clarifications from the Ministry of Health as well as our own debunking efforts. While the contexts may differ, this claim follows a similar pattern, playing on fears about public health programmes and undermining trust in vaccines. As vaccination remains a cornerstone of Singapore’s healthcare system, we decided to take a closer look at its origins and whether there is any merit to it.
Video origins
Using Google reverse image search on screenshots from the video, we identified the speaker as Dr. Anthony Phan, a U.S.-based physician who describes his practice as integrative medicine, with a focus on longevity. Although the original YouTube video is no longer available, an archived version can be found here.
In the video, he states that he no longer vaccinates his patients and will not do so in the future. Dr. Phan, who was born in Vietnam but later left the country, further asserted that autism did not exist in Vietnam before Bill Gates introduced vaccination programmes, adding that strengthening the immune system alone is enough to combat anything. However, he offered no evidence to support these claims.
Dr. Phan mentions that he watched the documentary, “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe,” while discussing his position on vaccines. The video he appears in bears a “Vaxxed.com” watermark and was uploaded to a now-removed YouTube channel called “Vaxxed TV,” which had previously described itself as a promotional outlet for the controversial documentary. The film promotes the debunked claim that the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine causes autism and has since been removed from many platforms. This context suggests that Dr. Phan’s video was intended to promote the anti-vaccine narrative as part of the channel’s content.
The documentary was directed by Andrew Wakefield, a former British gastroenterologist who was struck off the UK medical register in 2010 for serious professional misconduct. It was reported that, among others, Wakefield had used children showing signs of autism as research subjects, subjecting them to invasive and unnecessary procedures, including lumbar punctures and colonoscopies, in order to support his theory that MMR vaccines cause autism.
Recognition of autism in Vietnam
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) refers to a group of lifelong developmental conditions that usually appear in early childhood, often before the age of three. People with autism may experience differences in how they communicate and interact socially, and they may also show repetitive behaviors or highly focused interests.
Although ASD has been recognised in developed countries since the 1940s, it was only formally acknowledged in Vietnam in the late 1990s. This, however, does not mean autism did not exist in the country earlier. For instance, researchers studying ASD in Vietnam note that the country lacks routine developmental screening for young children, which might make it harder to identify cases early and accurately.
Additionally, according to Cong Tran, a professor at Vietnam National University, who spoke to AFP about similar vaccine misinformation, there are no official nationwide statistics on ASD rates in Vietnam. Monitoring trends is further complicated by changes in diagnostic criteria over time, and Tran noted that the growing awareness of ASD has led to more children being diagnosed in recent times. He also works with adults aged 30–40 living with ASD, refuting the claim that Vietnam had no autism patients prior to 2000.
Vaccines and autism
Large epidemiological studies have compared children who received the MMR vaccine with those who did not and found no link between the vaccine and autism. In addition, as of March 2025, at least 16 high-quality, population-based studies have been conducted by independent researchers in different countries. All of them concluded that there is no association between autism and the MMR vaccine, thimerosal (a preservative once used in some vaccines), or the overall number of vaccines children receive.
Experts are still uncertain about the exact causes of ASD. Genetics play a significant role, while environmental factors such as age, and social environment may also contribute. Importantly, there is no credible evidence linking vaccines to autism, a position supported by health authorities in Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the World Health Organisation.
Taken together, the evidence shows that autism existed in Vietnam well before the 2000s, and increases in diagnoses are better explained by factors such as greater awareness, and expanded diagnostic criteria, not vaccines. Hence, we rate the claim that autism did not exist in Vietnam before Bill Gates “showed up” as false.
