A child receives a vaccine in Qalamoun region in the northern countryside of Damascus, Syria, Feb. 10, 2019. (File photo: Xinhua)

GENEVA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) for preventing COVID-19, according to its daily situation report released Wednesday.

The UN body said there is no evidence that OPV, primarily used against polio, protects people against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

A clinical trial addressing this question is planned in the United States, and the WHO will evaluate the evidence when it is available.

"There are experimental signals from various studies over the years that OPV has non-specific effects on the immune system," the WHO stated.