among politicians and publics with science and scientists.

[GoodTaste]

Here "among politicians and publics with science and scientists" refers to "(a breakdown of trust is) among politicians and publics with science and scientists." Is it a structure of "a breakdown of trust) between A (A = politicians and publics) and B (B = science and scientists)"?

===================
The COVID-19 syndemic is entering its most dangerous phase. There is a mounting breakdown of trust. Not only between politicians and the public. But also among politicians and publics with science and scientists. This breach of faith with science is far more threatening. For the public is slowly turning against those who have sought to guide the political response to COVID-19.

Source: The Lancet
Offline: Science and the breakdown of trust

 

[PeterCW]

After deleting the line breaks from your pasted text you do need to type spaces.

Your understanding of the meaning is correct.

NB: before anybody "corrects" the text "publics" is how the word is written in the original article.

 

[GoodTaste]

Some space losses would have gone undetected in the conversion from PDF format to plain text.
But I've corrected them now.

PS. Another question about the OP:

The author says "For the public is slowly turning against those who have sought to guide the political response to COVID-19."

Who are "those"? Politicians or scientists? (The question arises because that that politicans guide a political response is a norm while that that scientists guide it is unusual.)

 

[GoesStation]

"Those" are people.

 

[GoodTaste]

"Those" are people.

Are they politicians or scientists?

 

[jutfrank]

Are they politicians or scientists?

Scientists.

 

[emsr2d2]

Are they politicians or scientists?

It refers to the scientists who have been advising the government on what measures should be taken throughout the pandemic. The piece is saying that the public are starting not only to lose faith/trust in the government but also in the scientists who have been advising them. The suggestion is that if people stop trusting the government, and they know that the government have (to a certain extent) been doing what scientists suggest, then people will also stop trusting those scientists.