This manuscript analyzes teaching in higher education in times of pandemic. In the process of its composition, it sought to systematize the evidence on the implications and benefits of social detachment in the COVID-19 pandemic, given the complete configuration of its implementation in Brazil. It is a bibliographic and documentary research, of a qualitative interpretive nature. Regarding the conditions for the effectiveness of classes in higher education, it is suggested that the social distance adopted by the population is essential to reduce serious cases of diseases and deaths caused by the virus. It is understood that, for the effectiveness of teaching in higher education, measures of social distance and social protection policies are necessary to guarantee the population the maintenance of life. mundo inteiro com graves problemas respiratórios (O GLOBO, 2021) e tendo ocasionado mais de 300.000 (trezentas mil) mortes no Brasil (MINISTÉRIO DA SAÚDE, 2021), esse cronotopo pandêmico demanda da ação conjunta do poder público em suas variadas esferas de proteção social, mas também a qualificação Wilder Kleber Fernandes Santana et al.