Skin manifestations of COVID-19: A global perspective.

In this first special issue, JAAD International addresses the myriad global ramifications of COVID-19 on the skin. This issue, in many ways, highlights the remit of the Journal; Dermatology, like SARS-CoV-2, knows no borders, and only by broadening our understanding and including as many voices, perspectives, and approaches as possible, can we hope to truly understand the ways in which COVID-19 affects the skin.

The scientific process embraces controversy and uncertainty, and nowhere is this more clear than in attempting to tease out the ways in which COVID-19 does—and does not—affect the skin. From controversies regarding therapy to fundamental questions regarding COVID toes, our authors have leaped headfirst into the fray to promote global skin health.1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Yet beyond the heterogeneous views afforded by a global perspective, this issue also highlights the ways in which we have come together as a medical and scientific community, relying on shared values of transparency, scientific rigor, and honesty. Indeed, what is striking is that we have all agreed to adopt a scientific, hypothesis-driven approach and embraced the tools and techniques of evidence-based medicine to make meaning out of meaninglessness and order out of chaos.

While we are, in many ways, removed from the uncertainty and data vacuum of the early days of the pandemic, questions remain and persist, and this issue serves as a reminder that all medical decision-making is—at its very core—decision-making under uncertainty. The asymptotic quest for truth unites, rather than divides, the scientific community, and I am proud of the work of the many physician-scientists that have contributed to this special issue in an attempt to push our specialty—and global health—forward.

Conflicts of interest

None disclosed.