Israel’s Health Ministry on Sunday granted emergency approval to an anti-viral oral COVID-19 medication developed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Officials ordered roughly 100,000 doses of the pills in an effort to help combat a new coronavirus wave brought about by the fast-spreading Omicron variant. The doses are expected to arrive in the country by Wednesday at the earliest, Hebrew-language Channel 12 reported Saturday. Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla over the weekend to finalize the deal, as per Channel 12. The new drug will be available for free in Israel to those in high-risk groups, officials said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization to Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment pill on Dec. 22. The oral drug, called Paxlovid, is taken twice per day for five days in combination with a second medicine called ritonavir, which is classified as a generic antiviral drug. Paxlovid is supposed to be for patients who are suffering from “mild-to-moderate” COVID-19 symptoms …