The coronavirus pandemic has left retailers scrambling to meet a crushing demand for everything from milk to toilet paper to flour and yeast.

But there is another shortage, perhaps less obvious but more heart-wrenching. In stores, next to an ample supply of birthday cards and thank-you notes, the sympathy cards are nearly sold out.

The greeting card aisle, with its pastel-colored envelopes and messages for every occasion, offers a snapshot of the virus’s wicked toll. While many celebrations and milestones have been put on hold, grief is in abundance.

“The number of orders we see coming in for sympathy is stunning,” said Alan Friedman, who runs a silk-screen card company in Buffalo, Great Arrow Graphics, and is a board member of the Greeting Card Association, the industry trade group. “It seems like just about everyone knows someone who has died.”