I cited to the VAERS database the other day and that no cases of mental retardation were reported in connection to Gardasil vaccinations. None. Zip. Zilch.

The VAERS database is designed to allow doctors to report all side effects experienced - regardless of whether there was causality. If an ailment occurred following the dose, it’s reported.

So, if Bachmann’s anecdote is to be believed, someone would have had experienced mental retardation after taking the vaccine, but no one reported this to VAERS. That’s possible, but highly unlikely.

There are side effects relating to Gardasil, but mental retardation isn’t one of them.

There have been some reports of blood clots in females after receiving Gardasil. These clots have occurred in the heart, lungs, and legs. Most of these people had a risk of getting blood clots, such as taking oral contraceptives (the birth control pill), smoking, obesity, and other risk factors. That could potentially cause a stroke and therefore result in mental incapacity, but we’d need to know more specifics.

And yet the benefits still outweigh the side effects, which are largely minor (and the label warns about the possibility for blood clots and falls). The vaccine prevents a disease, cervical cancer, that affects 12,000 women annually. Many more are affected by HPV, the virus that is linked to cervical cancer.