The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) website is under fire for only showing two images of black or brown skin in its online catalog of COVID-19 skin rash photos.
The 400 images show a wide range of symptoms including prickly heat, chickenpox-like rashes, hives, and “COVID toes.”
In response to the criticism, a BAD spokesperson explained that the lack of black and brown skin images was due to “in part, by cultural factors but also because rashes are less visible on darker skin and may have been difficult to photograph.” They went on to say that they decided to not include images that didn’t meet standards of quality or had been reported as faulty by users.
In an article for The Guardian, Ifeoma Ejikeme, MD, director and founder of the Adonia Medical Clinic in London, said, “At this point, I would rather put up poor quality images than no images. They need to be speaking to and liaising with GPs to get those pictures.”