China shares end higher as healthcare firms gain on vaccination efforts

* SSEC +0.1%, CSI300 +0.2%

* China administers total of 149 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Wednesday

* Real estate shares fall on property tax talks

SHANGHAI, April 8 (Reuters) - China shares closed higher on Thursday, with healthcare shares leading the gains as the country ramped up vaccination efforts amid the emergence of a new cluster of infections. ** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.08% at 3,482.55. ** The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.17%, with its healthcare sub-index up 1.74% and the consumer staples sector up 0.97%.

** China reported 24 new COVID-19 cases on April 7, with 11 of the new cases were local infections reported in the southwestern Yunnan province. ** The country had administered a total of 149.07 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, as of Wednesday.

** The real estate index fell 1.75% after Beijing said it would push for property tax.

** The National Development and Reform Commission rolled out new measures to relax market entries in the southern island of Hainan, boosting shares of local firms such as Hainan Haide Capital Management Co. ** The smaller Shenzhen index ended unchanged for the day and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.7%. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.51%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.07%. ** At 07:01 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.5484 per U.S. dollar, 0.07% weaker than the previous close of 6.5435. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; editing by Uttaresh.V)