is a freelance journalist who lives in Solana Beach. Visions of a carefree spring break vacation in Mexico beckon like mirages in the Sonoran Desert. Imagine escaping COVID-19 lockdown to tan at Playa del Amor in Cabo San Lucas, sip a margarita while being serenaded by mariachis in Puerto Vallarta’s Zona Romantica or take a meditative hike on Tecate’s sacred Mount Cuchama. I hate to be a bubble-bursting killjoy, but now is not the time. Mexico has moved into third place on the global fatality ranking after the United States and Brazil, surpassing India — a country with 10 times its population. Our enticing southern neighbor suffers from chronic shortages of vaccine, hospital beds and life-saving oxygen tanks. By going there, we risk adding to the country’s health care crisis. My family learned this lesson the hard, scary way.