Between August 5 and 7, Georgian- (1;2) and Russian-speaking (1;2) Facebook users shared information claiming that before the start of mass vaccination in Vietnam, funded by the Bill Gates Foundation, there were no cases of autism in the country. The posts were accompanied by a video in which a man presented as a medical doctor, Anthony Phan, states that in 1975, 2000, and 2001, autism did not exist at all in Vietnam. According to him, after the country became a member of the World Health Organization and established ties with the International Monetary Fund, Bill Gates and his foundation initiated mass vaccination programs in Vietnam, and autism cases allegedly increased by 300%.
It should be noted that this video and the claims made in it have been circulated repeatedly in the past (1;2;3).
The claim that autism was non-existent in Vietnam prior to the introduction of vaccination is untrue. In reality, autism has been officially recognized in the country since the 1990s, which is why it was not recorded in 1975. Moreover, local doctors working with people on the autism spectrum confirm that autism existed in Vietnam even before 2000. No link has been found between vaccination and autism.
- Autism Cases in Vietnam
As the authors of the circulating posts note, the person speaking in the video is Dr. Anthony Phan. Fact-checkers from the French news agency AFP determined that Phan does not work in the field of autism and that his claims are disinformation. There is no proven connection between autism and vaccines. AFP also contacted specialists in Vietnam who work with people on the autism spectrum. These experts rejected the claims and pointed out that it is also untrue to say autism did not exist in the country before 2000, as they have patients aged 30-40 living with autism spectrum disorders. Doctor Cong Tran explains that as awareness increased, it became possible to diagnose more people.
Autism as a recognized condition in Vietnam dates only from the 1990s, so it would have been impossible for people on the spectrum to appear in any statistics in 1975. It is also important to note that diagnosing autism requires trained professionals and resources, so only part of the population receives a correct diagnosis. Accordingly, in Vietnam, as in many other developing countries, in the 1990s, 2000s, and even today, only a portion of people with autism are reflected in official statistics. As resources improve, more correct diagnoses can be made, which creates the appearance of an increase in numbers. Nevertheless, local experts state that saying there was a 300% rise in autism cases in Vietnam is nonsense.
Vietnam receives vaccination support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, founded in 2000, in which the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a co-founder and main donor. The video connects this assistance with the alleged increase in autism cases. In reality, there is no evidence linking autism to vaccination. Over recent decades, many studies have been conducted on the relationship between vaccines and autism, and no link has been found.
Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder, usually appears before the age of 2 and affects communication and behavior. Its exact causes are not fully understood, but risk factors include having a sibling with autism, older parents, genetic conditions such as Down syndrome and Rett syndrome, very low birth weight, maternal obesity, diabetes and immune disorders, complications during childbirth that reduce oxygen supply to the brain, and prenatal exposure to air pollution or pesticides, among others.
- Where Did the Anthony Phan Video Come From?
The video in which Anthony Phan talks about autism cases in Vietnam is a clip taken from a 2016 scientific documentary titled “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe.” The film’s director and main featured expert is Andrew Wakefield. He is the lead author of a 1998 scientific paper claiming to have found confirmed cases in which the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused autism in children. Most experts were skeptical of this study. In 2004, following an investigative report, a journalist accused Wakefield of falsifying results in exchange for payment from a law firm involved in litigation over vaccines. After this, most of the paper’s co-authors retracted its conclusions and removed their names from the study. In 2010, the UK’s General Medical Council revoked Wakefield’s medical license.
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