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More than 300,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.

It is the latest sign of a generational tragedy 鈥� one still unfolding in every corner of the country 鈥� that leaves in its wake an expanse of grief that cannot be captured in a string of statistics.

鈥淭he numbers do not reflect that these were people,鈥� said Brian Walter, of New York City, whose 80-year-old father, John, died from COVID-19. 鈥淓veryone lost was a father or a mother, they had kids, they had family, they left people behind.鈥�

There is no analogue in recent U.S history to the brought on by the coronavirus, which now runs unchecked in countless towns, cities and states.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing some of the most deadly days in American history,鈥� said , director of Global Health in Emergency Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

During the past two weeks, COVID-19 was the 聽of death in the U.S., outpacing even heart disease and cancer.

鈥淭hat should be absolutely stunning,鈥� Spencer said. And yet the most deadly days of the pandemic may be to come, epidemiologists predict.

Even with a rapid rollout of vaccines, the U.S. may reach a total of by spring, said Ali Mokdad of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

Some of those deaths could still be averted. If everyone simply began wearing face masks, more than 50,000 lives could be saved, IHME鈥檚 model shows. And physical distancing could make a difference too.

No other country has come close to the calamitous death toll in the U.S. And the disease has amplified entrenched inequalities. Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos are 聽three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than whites.

鈥淚鈥檓 really amazed at how we have this sense of apathy,鈥� said a professor of medicine and population health at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. He said there鈥檚 evidence that socioeconomic factors, not underlying health problems, explain the disproportionate share of deaths.

The disease, he said, reveals 鈥渢he chronic neglect of Black and brown communities鈥� in this country.

Though the numbers are numbing, for bereaved families and for front-line workers who care for people in their dying moments, every life is precious.

Here are reflections from people who鈥檝e witnessed this loss 鈥� how they are processing the grief and what they wish the rest of America understood.

鈥楾here Are Things We Can Do to Still Make a Difference鈥�

Darrell Owens, a聽 in Seattle, was startled to learn recently that he had signed more death certificates for COVID-19 than anyone else in Washington.

Owens runs the palliative care program at the聽, where he has treated COVID patients since the early spring.

鈥淚鈥檓 feeling much more anger and frustration than I did before because much of what we鈥檙e dealing with now was preventable,鈥� Owens said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all in this great big storm, but some people are in a yacht and some people are on a cruise ship and some people are on a raft,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not all in this together.鈥�

Owens still finds moments of grace and meaning as he cares for the dying.

鈥淭he other day, there was a lady I was taking care of who鈥檇 come from a local nursing home and it was very clear that she was nearing the end,鈥� Owens said. 鈥淚 just picked up her hand. I sat there. I held her hand for about 25 minutes until she took her last breath.鈥�

He stepped out of the room and called the patient鈥檚 daughter.

鈥淚t made such a difference for her that her mom was not alone,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat an incredible gift that she gave me and that I was able to give her daughter. So there are things that we can do to still make a difference.鈥�

鈥業t鈥檚 Not a Joke. It鈥檚 Not a Hoax.鈥�

Since his father died of COVID-19 in the spring, Brian Walter of Queens, New York, has helped run a support group on Facebook for people who鈥檝e lost family and friends to COVID-19.

It鈥檚 helped him grieve his father John, whom he describes as a very loving man dedicated to his autistic grandson and to running a youth program for teenagers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been lifesaving in a lot of ways,鈥� Walter said. 鈥淭ogether, we face a lot of issues since we are grieving in isolation. But at the same time, we鈥檙e also dealing with people that openly tell us that this is not a real condition, that this is not a real issue.鈥�

Some in their group admit they denied the severity of the virus and shunned precautions until it was too late.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a joke. It鈥檚 not a hoax, and you will not understand how horrible this is until it enters your family and takes away someone,鈥� he said.

All of this complicates the grief, but it has also led Walter and others in his group to speak out and share their stories, so that numbers don鈥檛 obscure the actual people who were leading full lives before dying from COVID-19.

鈥淚 know what it鈥檚 like to have to say goodbye to somebody over a Zoom call and to not have a funeral,鈥� Walter said.

鈥�300,000 Stories That Got Shut Down Too Quickly鈥�

Martha Phillips, an ER nurse who took assignments in New York and Texas in the spring and summer, said there is one patient who has become almost a stand-in for the grief of the many whose deaths she witnessed.

It was the very last COVID patient she cared for in Houston.

鈥淚 reached down to just adjust her oxygen tubing just a little bit,鈥� Phillips recalled. 鈥淎nd she looks up at me and she sees me through my goggles and my mask and my shield and meets my eyes and she goes, 鈥楧o you think I鈥檓 going to get better?鈥欌��

鈥淲hat do you say to someone who鈥檚 not ready to die? Who has so much to live for, but got this and now they鈥檙e trapped?鈥�

Two months later, Phillips discovered the woman鈥檚 obituary online.

鈥淭hat one was the hardest,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 300,000 people who had time left that was stolen from them; 300,000 stories that got shut down too quickly.鈥�

鈥楾his Is Worse Than Being in War鈥�

ER physician Dr. Cleavon Gilman, a veteran of the Iraq War, said it鈥檚 still hard to communicate the brutality of a disease that kills people in the privacy of a hospital wing.

When Gilman was in New York City during the spring surge, he never imagined the U.S. would be losing thousands of people each day to COVID-19 so many months later.

鈥淭hat 300,000 Americans would be dead and life would go on and people would not have empathy for their fellow Americans,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can tell you this is worse than being in war.鈥�

The enemy is invisible, he said, the war zone is everywhere, and many refuse to take the most simple actions to combat the virus, even as morgues fill up in their own community.

Throughout the pandemic, Gilman, who is now working in Yuma, Arizona, has photos and stories of people who鈥檝e died from COVID-19 each day on social media. 聽鈥淚t鈥檚 really important to honor them,鈥� he said.

This story is from a reporting partnership with and .听