A Texas nonprofit on Thursday released its findings on an annual poll.

For 15 years, the Texas Lyceum Poll has studied issues facing Texans. For the last 12, one question has remained constant—do Texans believe the state’s economy is better than the rest of the country? 

In 2009, during the height of the Great Recession, 64 percent of Texans thought that the state’s economy was better than the nations. In 2021, that number dropped more than half as only 24 percent of Texans believed the state was doing better economically than the country. 

"Texans tend to be a little more bullish on this question than Americans generally,” said University of Texas professor Daron Shaw, Ph.D. “So there's a little more optimism that you see in the Texas data. But not this time, not this time. The pandemic plus the economic consequences are pretty dire."

The poll also found that minorities have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic not only economically, but personally.

The study found Hispanics were 60 percent more likely than other groups to know someone who has died from COVID-19, compared to African Americans at 40.5 percent and white people at 39.9 percent. 

Even knowing the outcomes of a bad bout with coronavirus, when asked if Texans would get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available, 50 percent said they won’t or they’re unsure if they will.