It is true, the government did lie about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in order to gain popular support for an unpopular war. More relevant to this thread is the fake vaccination campaign CIA orchestrated in Pakistan[1] to achieve some militaristic and violent goals for the USA government. It is an interesting question indeed. Why should we trust them?
We should also talk about this, and we should even be blaming the poor vaccination rates in the USA on this tendency of the government to lie in order to serve a narrow self interest. In my opinion this kind of behavior should not be expected from a government that calls it self democratic, and there needs to be some repercussions to the people responsible. Until then, it is totally understandable why people are skeptic towards any of their claims, including claims about the efficacy of Covid vaccines.
That said, my answer to my previous question: “when should we trust the government,” is: on a case by case basis. When it comes to Covid vaccines, there have been ample studies, by many parties, independent agencies, etc. And the claim is consistent. The vaccines are safe and an effective protection against serious illnesses from Covid 19. In this case, the government appears not to be lying.
1: https://www.grunge.com/321975/the-tragic-true-story-of-the-c...