diff --git a/check_couchdb b/check_couchdb
index a829276e85a505cb90f60daa6930cb86a5003766..60254e038ff2557d87e54031086556d5044edfba 100755
--- a/check_couchdb
+++ b/check_couchdb
@@ -81,7 +81,6 @@ case "${sMode}" in
         fi
         ph.status "Couchdb status (value in /_up is '$_status')"
         echo "Reponse: "; echo "${response}" | jq
-        _status=$( jq '.status' <<< "${response}" | tr -d '"')
         ;;
     *)
         echo "ERRROR: [${sMode}] is an INVALID mode"